Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State has urged Nigerians to embrace the spirit of Christmas by striving to keep it throughout the New Year, resolve not only to show love to one another in this season, but also to let love guide every action in the coming year.

According to Akpabio, “It is only in this way that we shall realise that ancient, wondrous and angelic proclamation of ‘peace on earth and goodwill towards men’.”

The governor gave the advice in his 2013 radio and television Christmas broadcast to Akwa Ibom State people.

Akpabio recalled that a few days ago, Akwa Ibom children drawn from the 31 Local Government Areas coalesced into a 9,999 Choir to sing Christmas Carols “in praise and honour of our God.” He described the Carol as historic and a watershed in spiritual rebirth, thanking those who attended or followed it in the media. He hoped that next year, the festival of carols would hold at the ultra-modern 30,000 capacity international stadium in Uyo.

Akpabio assured that his administration would ensure that mega projects being undertaken by it are commissioned next year. He listed the projects to include Ibom Tropicana Entertainment Centre, Ibom Specialist Hospital and Ibom International Stadium, among others.

According to him, “We have eased the burdens of our people with various economic incentives. We have tarred over 320 roads; executed over 4,000 people-oriented projects in our rural communities across the entire state under the Inter-ministerial Direct Labour Scheme; attained about 90 per cent coverage in electricity supply; commenced work on the main terminal building of the Ibom International Airport while work on the international stadium is nearing completion. We have turned Uyo into a modern, beautiful and sophisticated metropolitan city.

“Work is on-going on the third pipe-jacking underground drainage system which will serve the Tropicana Complex, the environs of the State Secretariat and our newly-completed dualised Nung Udoe/Ibesikpo Asutan Road; a road that has caught the fancy of our nation.”

Continuing, the governor said: “We started this journey in 2007 with a firm commitment to positively change forever, the lives of our people. The God who brought us this far will not abandon us in the New Year. We have proved that a united Akwa Ibom can only grow from strength to strength and stronger and stronger each passing day. Let us never succumb to the forces of divisiveness, for such forces are obstacles to stop us from living the rich promises of our forefathers.

“We set out to change Akwa Ibom State, but now we appear to have become the bellwether of hope for a new Nigeria. The wave of development in our state has elicited great commendation and praise from within and without our Country. Our state has become the destination of choice for conferences, workshops, seminars and retreats in Nigeria. Thanks to God, we have become a reference point in good governance and a paragon of development.

“As this year draws to a close, we can count our blessings and know we have a lot to thank God for. As a People and a state, we have moved from the shadows of national life to the centre of national attention. With God on our side we have recorded great successes in infrastructural development, human capacity building, economic growth, educational advancement and health care services.”

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